Catch a Whiff of the Big-League Lifestyle With Mizuno’s Pro Baseball Glove

Photo: Alex Washburn/Wired

For a professional baseball player, the glove isn’t just a tool, it’s an extension of your body, your interface to the world. The pros perform elaborate break-in rituals to get the glove ready for use, lovingly care for it day in and day out, and protect it for years, refusing to switch to another model.

Mizuno’s new limited edition Pro glove gives everyday players some of the perks
that have previously only been reserved for the guys in The Bigs. First off, it’s simply a beautifully constructed piece of equipment — the infield glove we used was built from super-strong Kip leather and smelled like the backseat of your grandpa’s Cadillac. It’s major-league quality all the way, with deerskin lining and a pro-tested pattern.

But the signature feature of the glove is the off-season conditioning program. Whenever you feel like the glove needs an overhaul — which might be years down the road — you can send it to Mizuno. The company’s glove-makers will re-lace the glove, replace all the felt, and condition the leather. The result will be what the company says is a “like new” version of your faithful companion. The one hitch is that you can only send in the glove once over the course of its lifetime.

Of course, MLB players get this sort of service for free, but it will cost you — the gloves in the Pro series run $500. But it’s as close to playing in the Show as I’ll ever get.

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